Tuesday, February 1, 2011

Twins 1st Annual Tweet and Greet

As I briefly mentioned in my post yesterday, the Minnesota Twins tried an social media experiment on the final day of TwinsFest 2011. The Twins media guru's organized what they called a "Tweet and Greet" event with two of the biggest tweeters on the Twins, Michael Cuddyer (@mcuddy5)and Denard Span (@thisisdspan).

Fans waiting for the event to start

When I got to the secret location, the room was already filling-up with "Tweeting Twins Fans." Shortly after arriving I noticed a person that seemed to be getting much more attention than the others in the room. It turned out to be Twins catcher, Drew Butera. Butera was kind enough to sign autographs and take pictures with fans as we waited for the event to start. He is a very funny guy and he recently joined the Twitter Universe so you can follow him @drewbutera.

The crowd erupted into cheers for Michael Cuddyer and Denard Span as they entered the room. Both players gladly answered an array of questions from the audience. The first question came from Butera and he asked the guys what they both liked most about Joe Mauer. They each gave the standard answer about Mauer being a good teammate and great player. Span went on to say that Mauer is so good that he doesn't even need a back-up catcher. This response got a roar of laughter from the crowd, even from Butera.

Drew Butera and the NoDak Twins Fan

Some of the other questions from the fans included:
Who was your favorite player when you were growing up?
What sports did you play in high school?
How do you feel about an increase in the use of instant replay?
What are the positives and negatives of being a MLB Player?
Will Justin Morneau be healthy for the coming season?

I asked the question: How do you guys feel about the emergence of young players, like Kyle Gibson, as they attend their first Spring Training and have the possibility of making their major league debut?

Cuddyer offered up the response that it is always exciting to see the look of the players that are in their first big league camp at Spring Training. He said the "deer in the headlights" look is unmistakable. He also said it is great to see a young prospect get their first hit or first strikeout at the big league level. Those moments remind Cuddyer of when he had those milestones at the beginning of his career.

Cuddy and Span answering questions

Overall, it was a fun and unique opportunity to get up-close and personal with some of the stars of the Minnesota Twins in a cozy atmosphere. To wrap up the event the Twins asked for input from the fans about what other Twitter events they would like to see in the future. There are going to be more opportunities, like the one I have described above, so make sure to follow @minnesotatwins on Twitter.

2 comments:

Nice work on covering this event. I was there as well and am in one of the pictures in the story, the first picture. I am the Twins fan wearing the hat in the bottom of the picture. Now that I can put your name to your face, I will have to say hello at the next event or Twins game. Good work again!

I was at the table where Butera sat down, and it was a few minutes before everyone started noticing and wanting autographs. He was actually a very down to earth and hilarious guy. It was sure a great way to end the day.